


Truth or Dare, or how Bruce Banner found out his life was a Wattpad fanfiction

by glittertrashcan



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - College/University, Declarations Of Love, Insecure Bruce, Insecurity, Inspired by Real Events, M/M, Mutual Pining, Truth or Dare, please read the notes, thorbruce
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-13
Updated: 2018-08-13
Packaged: 2019-06-26 20:13:59
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,820
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15670476
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/glittertrashcan/pseuds/glittertrashcan
Summary: Bruce Banner is a college student crushing on Thor Odinson, another student on Marvel Campus. During a truth or dare with their friends, Thor kisses Bruce. Cue pining, insecurity, and fluff.Please read the notes, it's very important to me!





	Truth or Dare, or how Bruce Banner found out his life was a Wattpad fanfiction

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone.
> 
> This new fiction is extremely personal to me. It's a love letter to the guy I like right now, and the fic is 90% true. I depicted myself as Bruce and him as Thor. This is how I see the both of us. The story is based on something that happened to me last week, except this story has a happy ending, so I had to bend the ending. Besides that, this is my wearing my heart on my sleeve. This may be stupid, so I pray he never finds it, but I needed this.  
> This may not be my best work, but I hope you will like it nonetheless.
> 
> Lots of love, glittertrashcan.
> 
> PS: I mostly listened to three songs during the writing process: Moments passed by Dermot Kennedy, Hollow by Belle Mt and 91's by PNL (i have shit taste i know)

Bruce had no idea what he was doing there.

He liked Wanda a lot, don’t get him wrong. But Bruce still had no idea why he had accepted to go to a party with their friends. He usually steered clear of any social gathering, but she had promised him it was only their closest group and nothing like one of Tony’s parties. And she had said the truth. There were Wanda, Pietro, Nat, Tony, Steve and Bucky, Vision, Clint, Thor and his friend Jane. He had talked a lot with her a lot in the past, and she had some fascinating theories on astrophysics. 

And even though he knew everyone there intimately enough to be comfortable around them, he was still on edge. Why? you would ask. Well, Thor was there.

Bruce had been crushing on Thor since they had met in their foreign languages class. Thor was majoring in politics and foreign languages, and Bruce was minoring in it in order to work with developing countries when he got his doctorate. They had quickly become friends, concerned about the same issues and both of them unable to pick their fights. They got closer when they both signed up for a student group supposed to discuss discrimination issues on campus, and the struggles of said students. They had a lot of similar ideas about the whole ordeal, especially how the poorest students were treated by the administration. 

And, well, the more Bruce got to know Thor, the more he came to like like him. To begin with, Thor was tremendously handsome. The man had hypnotizing arms and hands, eyes you could only get lost in, long hair you just wanted to braid and put your hands in. His face too was far from ugly. He was, all in all, very much Bruce’s type. 

And besides the physical attraction he felt for the taller man, Thor was basically perfect. He cared about everyone, was incredibly smart and witty, if a bit distracted in class, and never let anyone undefended. He had many beliefs, and stood by them, whether they pleased the general public or not. He was also quite brave, even when it came to speaking about his feelings. If Bruce could find him any flaws, it would be his habit of drinking a little bit too much -though it was related to deeper rooted issues- and… no really, besides a little careless, destructive tendency, he didn’t really have flaws.

Well. Bruce could find a flaw, but he didn’t think that Thor crushing on Jane was a truly objective flaw. The woman really was more suited to such a man than Bruce. He knew it, but it didn’t make it hurt any less. He just wished that Jane would realise how flustered Thor was every time he came down to the science department. he never came to see Bruce only, so he just knew Jane had to be special to him.

“-ce? Bruce?”

Bruce had been so deep in thought that he hadn’t even realised Thor was calling him. They were hanging out and drinking outside. What he liked about his little group of friends is that he never felt pressured to drink more than he wanted to. They had been talking about absolutely anything, including father issues -a recurring theme in their group honestly-, alcohol, sex and love. Bruce was already getting a bit sick of seeing Steve and Bucky and Wanda and Vision kissing. He was elated that his friends were truly happy, but sitting next to his crush while his friends gazed lovingly into each other’s eyes was not the most comfortable situation he’d ever been in. It left the single ones to do the conversation. 

After some time, the party had decided to play Never Have I Ever. Though Bruce knew the game, he had never had a chance to play. He found the concept interesting, and was absolutely not concerned about not finding things he’d never done. Frankly, Bruce was quite inexperienced. He’d already kissed some girls, but none he’d really been interested in, and never a guy. He knew how to play Scrabble, per se, but had yet to find a partner. He knew that he was likely one of the most innocent people in the game today, but at least he could discover some new things about his friends, and especially Thor. 

As it started raining, they all retreated inside. They sat in a circle on the living room carpet, and kept playing. Some random questions, a few teasing ones later, Bruce felt surprisingly buzzed. It seemed like Tony was targeting his questions on things his best friend had already done so he wouldn’t feel left out. His science bro really was the best. Some pretty personal question had come up, and everyone felt more or less surprised, depending on who and what. People had been shocked that Bruce, who had come out to them as mostly attracted to them almost a year ago, had yet to kiss any boy. It’s not like his master was leaving him a lot of free time on his hands though… 

Then, out of nowhere, Thor, who had been switching between his place next to Bruce and the music, turned his handsome, open face towards him and asked: “Can I put my head on your lap?”

See, Bruce already knew firsthand that Thor was a very cuddly drunk, and he had already downed a good amount of that Asgardian mead he liked so much. So, really, the brunette knew it was just his friend being openly affectionate in his drunken state, but it didn’t stop his heart from dramatically beating faster.

Soon, Thor’s head was cuddled on Bruce’s left thigh, and he was laid on is back with is legs bent while Bruce was sitting, propped up against the couch. Bruce had to refrain himself from caressing Thor’s long, luscious hair or cupping his cheek. He had more and more trouble following the game, and everyone slowly got bored of it too. He was chatting with Natasha, trying to find out which class he knew her from, when Thor raised his arms above his head and put them around Bruce’s waist. Bruce froze. His huge, warm hands felt wonderful against his waist and between the hem of his shirt and shorts. He shook himself out of it. It really wasn’t the time to get all pine-y. 

Unfortunately for our smart young man, the party then moved on to a game of Truth or Dare. Bruce was not exactly a coward, but he hated embarrassing himself and he always kept going with Truth as long as the others let him. His first question was whether he had a crush on someone there, and who. Bruce said yes and then proceeded to gush and swoon about Tony. He knew the others would see it as the joke it was, and it saved his ass at the same time. The truths and the dares kept flowing, but Bruce paid little attention to the game itself. Having Thor’s head in his lap and feeling his heat on his thighs monopolised his attention. 

He was in the middle of a sentence when he was stopped by a hand sneaking into his shorts. A warm, delicious hand that had just disappeared from his waist. Thor’s hand was on his ass. Bruce managed to regain his composure and continue his discussion with Natasha. The couples were sitting together and were the main target of the dares. Bruce was mostly left alone, in his own little bubble. He was entirely focused on the blonde’s hand, travelling around his hip, his back under his shirt, and his ass under his shorts. Bruce might be a brilliant student, but it took all of his brain and his concentration not to lose track of what was happening around him. Unfortunately, focusing on his conversation with Natasha and not getting too excited by Thor more or less groping him was the best he could do. 

Which was why he was completely clueless when Thor got up to sit next to him and facing him instead of on his lap. Bruce only became further confused when the blonde Adonis asked him: “A smooch or with tongue?”

Bruce, still at loss, just answered something between ‘whatever’ and ‘as you want’, a mumbled mess he would never understand himself. Apparently, Thor seemed to take it as consent enough to kiss him. 

It was around that time that Bruce’s brain caught up and he understood that Thor had been dared to kiss him. He was unable to think further because he was expecting a light smooch, as Thor wouldn’t want to do any more with him, when he got the lights kissed out of him. Thor went in full tongue, roaming around his mouth, caressing his tongue and slightly pinching his lips. It was hands down the best kiss of Bruce’s life, and he was sure he would never forget it. The kiss ended far too soon, according to Bruce. Thor leaned away from him and looked him in the eye. His irises were such a beautiful colour that Bruce felt like he’d been kissed out of breath a second time. He knew without asking anyone that he looked properly dishevelled and fucked out. In his confused state, he would never be able to tell if the light kiss he felt a few seconds later on his lips was a dream or real. 

Everyone’s attention went on the next victim, but Bruce was in an agitated state of mind. Thor was now leaning against his side, half facing him and still looking at his face. Bruce couldn’t deal with anything at the moment, and just avoided looking at him until the taller man gave up and settled his face in Bruce’s neck. His fingers kept going from one side of his neck to another, in a gesture as light as erotic. Bruce was awfully turned on right then, and now his brain cells were mostly focused on not getting a boner. Which. Thor was hot. It’d be easier to hide his arousal if he were a woman. 

Time flew by in a strange, eerie way. Thor remained handsy the whole time, but never overstepping his boundaries. If Bruce pushed his hand away, he said nothing and didn’t go further that way again. It was nice to see a man respect so clearly consent and even ask for verbal consent. Bruce knew deep down that below his rugged, rough exterior, Thor was a good man.

His brain was in overdrive the whole time. Everyone kept drinking and playing but Bruce mostly kept quiet and to himself. He preferred to think about how the evening had gone. If he were sincere, he had absolutely no idea that tonight would be the night he finally kissed his crush. He had been dreaming about that for quite a while now, and yet it was better than anything he’d ever dreamed up. He had to pinch himself to make sure he actually wasn’t dreaming. 

And suddenly, Thor wasn’t leaning on him anymore. Bruce paid it no mind, he must have gone to the toilets, but he got up to serve himself a glass of water. He passed in front of the toilets on his way and heard someone retching. He called Wanda and soon her and Vision were bent over a vomiting Thor, who had apparently drunk more than the others had thought. The next half hour was spent worrying about the blonde man while staying with the others, since he had no reason to check up on him. Unfortunately, he had to head back to his dorm not long after that, since he had an early class the next day.

Truth be told, Bruce Banner slept very little that night.

____________

For someone so smart, Bruce sure was dumb as fuck when he had a crush. Over the next day, he kept remembering small details of the night, though the kiss itself he’d remembered the second he woke up. 

Dozens of questions swarmed around his head throughout the day. Who had dared Thor to kiss him? Why? Did Thor remember the kiss? Did he enjoy it? Did he regret it? Jane had been there, so he most likely did. Was he feeling okay? What exactly did he remember? Would he completely avoid Bruce?

Bruce always felt as if Thor knew about his crush, and didn’t want to actively reject him, so he just didn’t mention it. And it didn’t actually bother him, believe him. He knew Thor would never want him like that. And it was fine, really. He’d take anything he could get, and if it were a distant friendship? Then so be it, Bruce wasn’t picky. Even if Thor proposed him a friends with benefits thing, he’d say yes, no matter how much it would hurt. That might make it seem like Bruce had a destructive streak, but what else was new?

Mostly, he wanted to talk it out with the taller man. But, not knowing where the latter stood, he didn’t dare do anything. Clueless, he turned his phone on and pulled up his friends' group chat. As soon as he read their messages, his stomach dropped. Thank god he hadn’t sent Thor anything. The man remembered nothing of the previous night. 

But Bruce couldn’t not tell him. Not only would it be worse if someone else told him, he also had a right to know what went on the previous night.

__________

Bruce Banner was not going to be a coward. He opened his messages, pulled up the conversation with Thor and asked him how he was doing. The other man answered fairly quickly and after a few minutes of mindless small talk, Bruce asked him what he remembered of the previous night. To his surprise -and slight panic- Thor had already been told that he had kissed Bruce. Who could have told him? Why would they have done that? Nobody could mean him any harm, right?

After talking it out with Tony, and his best friend reassuring him as usual, he decided to ask Thor if he had been told, or had remembered anything else. The answer came right away: all the man could think of was that they had played Never Have I Ever and a bit of Truth or Dare. Bruce knew it would backfire, but couldn’t help himself and asked Thor if what had happened bothered him.

The sweet giant of course answered that it was only a kiss, and there was nothing to worry about. And Bruce, because he clearly was a masochist, decided to answer ‘haha u really don’t remember anything do u?’ and then proceeded to explain to the blonde what exactly he had done the previous night.

__________

‘Wow’.

What kind of answer was wow? Bruce was able to understand approximately any concept in physics but the meaning of that single word remained a total mystery. Did Thor feel bad about what he had done? Did he regret it? Was he disgusted by Bruce? Did he feel violated? Anxiety pumped through Bruce’s veins like adrenaline. 

There was nothing to be said. Unless some deity came to explain to him the meaning of that single word, there was no way he had anything else to say to his crush. 

Bruce Banner truly was an idiot, according to his friend Tony. Tony had basically been coaching him through the whole ordeal, and the dark-haired man couldn’t have asked for a better ear. Neither of them really knew what to do about the situation, but it didn’t keep Bruce from overthinking every single word he had written over and over again.

He knew there was nothing to be done, but he still wished he could go back in time and-

And do what? Even if Thor may have hated the kiss afterwards, and regretted it, it was still the best moment of Bruce’s life, and he already told Tony he’d give anything to do it again. So who was he kidding? Unless Thor felt so bad about the whole thing that he felt violated, he wished to change nothing. 

Kissing the guy he had a crush on, even if it was for a dare, was probably going to be the peak of his college life. Which he had no problem with, it’s not like he was interested in anyone else. So what his life was a little bit pathetic? It was just slightly less so now. 

It would be even better if he could stop thinking about Thor more than half a minute. He had been unable to concentrate since that night, and the two days that had passed felt like an eternity. He was haunted by all the different outcomes of the night.

Would Thor just ignore it? Would he confront him? Would they remain friends? Would he be left alone once again? He just hoped Thor wouldn’t mind being his friend, even after he was told all he had done.

__________

But apparently, Fate couldn’t care less about what Bruce hoped. 

Thor had been avoiding him. He knew it. He didn’t even come to the science building to see Jane anymore, or at least not if she was with Bruce. Steve and Sam had seen him on campus, but he hadn’t hung out with them in a week. Or well, since what Bruce had labeled the Incident. He wished he didn’t blame himself for what happened, but he really did.

Thor must have hated it. He knew the blonde man couldn’t have loved learning about the experience, but Bruce had thought they could just go on and stay friends. Now all hope was lost. Thor was so disgusted by him he was avoiding him. 

Bruce hated how unfair it was that Thor had to stop seeing his friends only to keep away from Bruce. So he decided to do what Tony said he always did: sacrifice himself for the greater good. He would seek out the taller man, apologize and tell him that he’d stop hanging out with their friends if that meant Thor could go back to them. It wasn’t that much of a sacrifice, really. he owed Thor an apology, and he always felt as if their friends like the blonde much more than him -which wouldn’t surprise him. Everyone liked Thor better, even Bruce -he liked Thor so so much more than himself, in all honesty. Thor was all that Bruce wasn’t: outgoing, funny, beautiful, handsome, witty, strong, friendly, understanding, kind, and so many other things. So of course Bruce understood fully why the other man wasn’t attracted to him. The only thing Bruce had going on for him was brains. And usually, it was more of a flaw than anything else: he corrected everyone’s mistakes to the point it became annoying, he couldn’t help spewing out facts nobody wanted to know, and he came out as bragging more often than not. Really, the only person who could even remotely see the benefits of this brain was himself, so it’s not like it was really a good thing either. 

Bruce had at times been ashamed of his intelligence, felt insecure about it even, but he’d never thought it would get in the way of his love life. When he was a kid, he thought being smart would rather help him. Reality was never what you expected. His too big brain just made him anxious and in constant need for reassurance, which in turn made him clingy, which in turn made people break up with him. Even though he would probably break up with himself, too -wouldn’t even want to date himself- he couldn’t help but hope that someone, one day, wouldn’t be too bothered by that and all his other flaws. 

He had never thought it would be Thor, though. That man was far too perfect to ever fall in love with Bruce. After the Incident, Bruce had thought that maybe he’d be physically attractive enough for Thor to consider a purely physical relationship, but it seemed that he had once again been too arrogant and sure of himself. What could a man like Thor want to do with a loser like him?

Nothing, had proved the last week. Never seeing Thor again was something Bruce had expected one day. Their friendship was far too weak to survive out of college. But he’d hoped it would survive at least until one of them graduated. He had been wrong. Nonetheless, he would not be selfish and avoid confronting Thor just to maintain the foolish illusion that maybe the taller man wouldn’t want to be friends anymore. He’d messed up and made a mistake. It was time he apologised.

___________

Talking privately with Thor proved harder than it seemed. He usually had girls literally hanging off his arms, or guys asking him advice. He ate with his friends, went to clubs, checked up on his little brother… Thor was an extrovert, and he was never alone. 

But this was not something he was willing to do over the phone, at all. They both deserved a real talk, face to face. Thor needed to understand how honest Bruce was, and Bruce needed to be honest to go on. 

Bruce ended up doing something he loathed: asking Loki for help. He’d ended up punching the guy in his first year, when he heard him bad-mouthing poorer students. He’d matured since, but the punch sure had left an impression. He was still wary of Bruce, and the curly-haired man was afraid he would refuse to help him. 

To his utmost surprise, he didn’t even need to bribe Loki this time around. The guy had simply said he’d ask Thor to join him in the small park behind the science building. Few people ever went to the three benches and trees that sat in a corner of the campus, and they likely wouldn’t be bothered here. Thor would wait for Loki there, and Bruce would arrive after him. They would talk, and clear everything up. Then they would each go their merry way and never see each other again.

__________

Bruce wasn’t much of a coward, but he sure did like procrastinating the things that made him anxious. 

In this fashion, he’d avoided looking at the time the whole day. So much that he was now ten minutes late to his meeting with Thor. He was supposed to arrive five minutes after the time Loki had set up with Thor. Enough that it didn’t seem staged, but not too much so Thor wouldn’t leave. 

Now he’d probably left and Bruce would never get the chance to explain himself and apologise and Loki would think he was even worse a loser and it wasn’t wrong but he didn’t like other people thinking it either-

Thor was there. He was still there, sitting on the bench and looking exasperated. He raised his eyes before Bruce got the chance to turn around and flee. His blue eyes widened and he didn’t seem to angry, which was probably good. He could bear disappointment, he could bear being avoided. But anger, hatred? Bruce could not. All that he had left to do was apologise enough to avoid these last two.

He walked over to Thor with an awkward smile.

“Bruce…” Thor had a look in his eyes he couldn’t comprehend.

“Hey man, glad I saw you alone. We really have to talk about what happened last week…”

“Do we? I thought we wouldn’t have to…” winced the blonde.

“I know I might be the last person you want to talk to right now, but I really think such a situation shouldn’t go ignored any longer…”

“If this is what you want, sure, we can talk about it.”

“I just.. Listen, I really wanted to apologise properly to you. I fully understand that my behaviour was completely inappropriate, and I shouldn’t have done it because you were drunk and I usually respect verbal consent and you did but I was awfully selfish this time and it was unacceptable and I’d understand if you never want to talk to me ever again and-”

“Wait,” Thor cut him,” what do you mean apologise to me? I thought you wanted me to apologise! Is this a prank?”

“What? No! I abused you while you were drunk!”

“I abused you while I was drunk! I was the one doing the touching!”

“Yeah but I knew I was on board with it!”

“Wait… you were?” asked Thor.

“Well, yeah! Still am…” mumbled Bruce.

“I thought I’d gotten so drunk that I had molested you. I thought you were waiting for an apology, or that you hated me but… Honestly, I don’t actually remember any detail from that night because I’d drunk too much, but I still know that I don’t feel dirty or anything because of it. I couldn’t rate your kiss, but I can say that I must have liked the whole of it enough not to feel an ounce of regret the next morning.”

“I thought you were avoiding me because you were disgusted…”

“Well I was avoiding you, but I’d never be disgusted. Bruce…”

Thor was suddenly much, much closer than before, and Bruce could barely breathe. The man was leaning down so he could look the brunette in the eyes. 

“Please tell me the truth. How do you feel about what went on last week?”

Bruce inhaled sharply. It was now or never. And Bruce wasn’t a coward. And so he spoke.

“Thor I… I’ve liked you, a lot, since we met. It didn’t take long to become a crush. What happened last night was probably the peak of my romantic life in college. Maybe I even wished you’d go further. But don’t worry, I understand you’ve got a crush on Jane and I will not interfere or act petty and-”

“Bruce. Bruce. You’re going to say I keep interrupting you, and you wouldn’t be wrong, but I really need to stop you there. You think I have a crush on Jane?”

“Well, you only hang out in the lab when she’s here and…”

“I only hang out in the science building then because Jane’s an old friend and she only knows the part of your schedule that you share with her. I felt like asking you when you were free just to come stare at you might seem a little creepy. I came for you.”

“So… you don’t like Jane?”

“No. These days, I find myself quite fond of a complete dork who loves science and bad puns, that I wrongly groped and kissed last week. But I cannot find it in me to be mad about it either.”

“Are you saying you like me?”

“Yes Bruce, I like you too. A lot. For someone so smart, you sure can be thick-headed when you want.”

Bruce suddenly felt inadequate.

“But, why would you like me?” he said with the tiniest voice, half hoping Thor wouldn’t hear him.

“Because you’re you, Bruce Banner. You’re both breathtaking and cute, you’re smart and witty, I never get bored when I’m next to you, you take everything to heart and you never let anyone undefended. You make me want to be a better person so I can help you grow like you make me mature. I don’t care if I don’t understand everything you say, the fire of passion in your eyes is enough. I want to grow to know you inside out and be worthy of you, Bruce Banner. We’re both more than a little fucked up in our own ways, and I really think we can soothe the ache that lies within. I don’t care about being perfect or anything the world expects of me when I’m with you. I can only hope that you will ever understand or feel a hundredth of how you light me on fire, but I will respect and love you, no matter what you choose to do. Your life is yours to rule, and I want to be part of it.”

Bruce was speechless. It took black holes exploding to shut him up, but the intensity of Thor’s declaration of love was equal. He barely held himself up long enough to convey all the love he felt in one look, put his hand on the blonde’s cheek, lean closer and say:

“I love you. I adore you, Thor Odinson. Can I kiss you?”

Thor groaned, smiled and weaved his arms around the smaller man’s waist. Holding him as close as he physically could, he kissed him passionately. If Bruce had thought last week’s kiss was consuming, this one was everything it had and hadn’t been. 

He couldn’t wait to learn more about Thor, his kisses and his everything. And he felt like they would have their whole lives to do exactly that.


End file.
